Criminal Law

Two cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA) — where race was a factor in securing lesser prison terms — will have a significant impact on future sentencing decisions should the original rulings stand, says Toronto criminal lawyer Melody Izadi .
Read more

Thoroughly exploring each avenue of defence, no matter how slim the chance of success seems, can bring significant results, says Toronto criminal lawyer John Fennel , who recently secured an acquittal for a client on multiple gun charges after demonstrating police had breached the man’s constitutional rights.
Read more

While plea negotiations should be part of every criminal defence case, law schools provide only an academic sense of how they’re conducted, and offer little practical guidance, says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler.
Read more

The momentum in the second-degree murder retrial of Dennis Oland in the brutal beating death of his multimillionaire father has taken a turn — one which “favours” the defence, says Toronto criminal lawyer Christopher Hicks , who has decades of experience in defending clients accused of homicide.
Read more

Forgoing a preliminary inquiry, and heading straight to trial, can be the correct call under the right circumstances, says Toronto criminal defence lawyer Tyler Smith , who recently secured his client an acquittal in a shooting case using that strategy.
Read more

A semi-truck driver's guilty plea to all 29 charges stemming from a devastating collision with a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team will be a significant factor in his sentencing, Toronto criminal lawyer Christopher Hicks tells AdvocateDaily.com . Read CTV
Read more

If you take a rigorous approach and advance every possible defence, good things can happen, says Toronto criminal defence lawyer Tyler Smith , who recently secured his client an acquittal in a drug case that seemed insurmountable at the outset.
Read more

Two reports that address “systemic racism” within the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) should be viewed as a call to action to build trust with Indigenous people, Toronto criminal lawyer Laurelly Dale tells The Lawyer’s Daily .
Read more